Atletico Madrid‘s season is gaining speed and strength. Los Rojiblancos are currently second in the league table, level on points with leaders Real Sociedad with a game in hand.
Their 1-0 victory over Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday evening will have give them fresh impetus. It was their first ever victory over Barcelona in La Liga under Cholo Simeone, and will serve as putting the rest of the division on notice that their title charge is very much on.
Los Rojiblancos earned the victory through a moment of opportunism on the stroke of half-time. Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco deftly took the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who had made an ill-advised decision to rush him, before firing from distance into an empty net.
The victory was celebrated in style in the dressing room, evidenced in a photo shared on social media by several of the players including team leaders Koke and Jan Oblak.
Ganar, ganar, ganar y volver a ganar 💪🏻🔥🔴⚪️🔝 #AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/QT1IUkSKBI
— Koke Resurrección (@Koke6) November 21, 2020
It’s common for footballers to post photos of celebrations post-game, but not so much of the exact same photo, as Mundo Deportivo observed.
Grande equipo, hay que seguir!! pic.twitter.com/O5EJrk5BCe
— Jan Oblak (@oblakjan) November 21, 2020
It points to a collective unity that is evident in the manner in which they fight on the pitch. “The group is strong, I’ve been saying it for a long time,” Simeone said post-match.
“It gives us hope that we can accomplish what we want and that there’s a communion between the idea and the execution. The most beautiful thing [in football] is to give everything for the team.”
Atleti host Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday before a trip to another fallen giant, Valencia, in La Liga. Then, Simeone’s men host consecutive games against Bayern Munich and Valladolid. Fans of Los Rojiblancos will be hoping to keep the train moving.
Featured image courtesy of Twitter.
